YOUTH LEF’
A DOCUMENTARY BY SIMON VICTOR
Youth Lef’ Synopsis I Imagine a world where youth and their elders live in perfect harmony, and coexist without issue - where opinions were equally respected and compromise was the norm. Well there is no place on earth that his utopia exists; not even in the church. This problem exists even in religious organizations, which claim to be rooted in fairness and love. The main symptom is that youth are leaving the church‌. in droves. Across the world, the Seventh-day Adventist church has been losing many of it's youth, especially between the ages of 16-21 years old. In Barbados this problem is highlighted and is of great concern considering that the church has over 50 branches on the island and a national membership of over 15,000. Some youth return in their later years while others decide to stay away. While many adults claim that the youth are simply being rebellious, this has not proven to be the case in the majority of situations. The topic of youth attrition in any religious organisation is a complex one, filled with nuances which may be difficult to detect. Yet, with all of the cultural dynamics there is still a universal thread to this phenomenon which can be applied regardless of geographical locale. Shot on location in beautiful Barbados, this film explores not only the reasons, but the possible solutions to stem the issue. The film tells the story of a variety of youth who either left or stayed through the 16-21 age group and offers a candid response from youth, with honest answers from leaders. The voiceless are given a platform and the silenced receive an ear without fear of judgment or reprisal. The film hopes to start a dialogue to help all to make peace and move forward; improving on the current situation and giving hope to those that are to come.
Synopsis II Imagine a world where youth and their elders live in perfect harmony, and coexist without issue - well there is no place on earth that his utopia exists; not even in the church. This problem exists even in religious organizations which claim to be rooted in fairness and love. The main symptom is that youth are leaving the church‌. in droves. Across the world, the Seventh-day Adventist church has been losing many of it's youth, especially between the ages of 16-21 years old. In Barbados this problem is highlighted and is of great concern considering that the church has over 50 branches on the island and a national membership of over 15,000. Some youth leave for religious differences, others because of personal conflict, still others because they are just bored. Shot on location in beautiful Barbados, this film explores not only the reasons, but the possible solutions to stem the issue of 16-21 year olds leaving the Seventh-day Adventist church.
Biographies Pastor Anthony Hall As a young man, Pastor Hall noticed that he had the power of influence for good in his sphere and decided to become a Minister of the Gospel. Twenty Five years on, he is now the Youth director for Youth Ministries in the Caribbean Union of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. His insight into youth and their issues is pervasive and thought provoking.
Pastor Jason Peters As the Youth Director for the East Caribbean conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Ps. Peters has a special passion for the youth, especially those in his church. Hailing from the nature isle of Dominica, Ps. Peters is the proud husband of Trudi and father to Johannes
Cindy Blades Young and vibrant, Cindy Blades is an inspiring young lady who is a model Seventh-day Adventist. She has held the positions of chorister, Adventist Youth leader, and has been serving as an elder in her church all before the age of 30. Yet, she is by no means ‘boring’. Cindy is a self proclaimed foodie.
Sheldon Marshall Sheldon has been in the Seventh-day Adventist church for just under 4 years. He currently holds the position of Adventist Youth leader of his church despite being in the church for a relatively short period of time. He firmly believes that church is relevant to young persons, and can be fun.
Mervin Elfise Husband, Father, and singer/songwriter in the group Cornerstone, Mervin has a special passion for young persons. He has held various positions in his church ministering to youth and being a present mentor.
SadĂŠ Jno-Jules Springer Sade is a young Seventh-day Adventist who loves God. While the Seventh-day Adventist church holds a special place in her heart, she is aware of the issues that it faces and speaks frankly about them. Shamar J M Skeete
Shamar Skeete is a youthful enthusiastic and intelligent individual, who is on the verge of completing his Bachelor's Degree in Spanish with Management Studies here at the UWI Cave Hill Campus. Currently, he is a cruise representative at one of the leading Cruise Ship Companies Foster & Ince. His ambition in life is to utilize his Degree to pursue a career as a Foreign Diplomat, where he can experience and emerge himself in different cultures around the world. Shamar is a very spiritual but yet an open-minded individual to various perspectives. It is for this reason that many find him to be very relatable, understanding and easy-going. In addition, he is very helpful in that he gives of his time as a volunteer at the Barbados Vagrants & Homeless Society. Overall, he is a focused and motivated individual who is destined for greatness.
THE DIRECTOR Simon Victor Simon Victor is an award winning musician, sound designer, sound engineer - and now filmmaker! An avid ‘techie’ and lover of creative arts he believes that “Our worth is not determined by what happens to us, but what we do when faced with hardship.” A classically trained musician, Simon Victor has been a professional Audio Engineer for the past 10 years with a wide range of experiences. His work includes being Sound Designer of the “It so Happen Suite”, a recording and mix engineer on numerous Crop Over releases, freelance Audio Engineer at the Frank Collymore Hall and the Caribbean Media Corporation, Record Producer, Session Musician, and the list goes on. However, never did he imagine that he would add “Filmmaker” to that list, but now this is a reality. As the culmination of his ‘Film School’ journey, he has completed the film “Youth Lef’ as his Capstone project. The film airs concerns of the youth in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Barbados and offers solutions to some of the issues. ‘Youth Lef’ sees Simon fill the roles of Director, Editor, and Motion graphics animator. He sees this film as an experience that has helped him to grow. This documentary film, ‘Youth Lef’, is born out of a love for documentary film, and a desire to help other young persons who are disillusioned with Christianity. Throughout his time at the Errol Barrow Center for Creative Imagination, Simon has been able to learn many things which have helped in presenting narratives. Around the time of beginning his Creative Arts degree in 2012, Simon also was one of the persons instrumental in a youth Christian program which is available on-demand on the internet. The skills learnt have helped him to enhance the program and train persons to record a weekly video production, which in turn has given him a pool of persons to assist with the production of ‘Youth Lef’. While Sound remains his first love, he has found a new fondness for images and a deeper understanding of how to manipulate them for effect. He hopes that he will get more opportunities such as this to create films in the future.
Press Release Long The Errol Barrow Center for Creative Imagination will come alive with fresh new work in the Creative Arts, presented by its graduating Capstone students! Among the pieces submitted will be a film titled, Youth Lef’, by Simon Victor. Youth Lef is a documentary film that explores the issue of membership attrition in the 16-21 age group of the Seventh-day Adventist church in Barbados. Featuring a variety of youth speaking of their experience, this mixed media film introduces the stories of each person in their own voice as well as resultant commentary from persons in authority. ‘Youth-lef' takes a look into the feelings of youth in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Barbados. Candid and compelling, the film gives a voice to the voiceless - the youth who often are sidelined and silenced by tradition and bureaucracy. Premiering at the Errol Barrow Center for Creative imagination on May 9th, 2015, this Capstone film promises to be thought provoking and informative.
The film was created as the beginning of a dialogue which is to be continued, and asks the question “Why are the youth between 16-21 years old leaving the Seventh-day Adventist church, and what can be done to mitigate this situation?” Filmmaker Simon Victor states that he “hopes to bring the relevant parties to the table for discussion in order to facilitate healing. While everyone may not be Christian or even religious, religion has a real place in human society and contributes greatly to the structure in civilization and our quality of life.”
The medium of film was chosen over literature because film can reach the masses more easily. “How easily would a random person pick up an academic paper and read it? Now how easily would someone find a documentary on YouTube? I think that the visual arts have a way of connecting with persons in a way that cannot be matched by academic writing. This film is for the people…"
People can come and get an insight into the mind of the youth as well as the challenges they face. This film promises to appeal to the sense and the mind - a work of academic art! Youth lef’ will be screened on Saturday May 9th 2015 at 7p.m. at the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination.
Short The Errol Barrow Center for Creative Imagination will come alive with fresh new work in Creative Arts, presented by its Capstone students! Among the pieces submitted will be a film titled, Youth Lef’, by Simon Victor. Youth Lef is a documentary film that explores the issue of membership attrition in the 16-21 age group of the Seventh-day Adventist church in Barbados. Featuring a variety of youth speaking of their experience, this mixed media film introduces the stories of each person in their own voice as well as resultant commentary from persons in authority.
Youth Lef' takes a look into the feelings of youth in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Barbados. Candid and compelling, the film gives a voice to the voiceless - the youth who often are sidelined and silenced by tradition and bureaucracy. Premiering at the Errol Barrow Center for Creative imagination on May 9th, 2015, this Capstone film promises to be thought provoking and informative. Youth lef’ will be screened on Saturday May 9th 2015 at 7p.m. at the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination.